Book benefits children with cancer

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Pontiac Daily Leader - Pontiac, IL

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Posted Dec. 28, 2012 at 11:58 AM
Updated Dec 28, 2012 at 12:05 PM

Posted Dec. 28, 2012 at 11:58 AM
Updated Dec 28, 2012 at 12:05 PM

Cornell, Ill.

This holiday season, CEO of Premiumbrands, Adolfo Keeling, from El Salvador, returned to Cornell to visit his half sister Jenny Lyons and also to present her with a book he made that he wishes she will give to Cornell Grade School with his best regards.

The book, ‘Premiumbrands,’ a Spanish-written coffee table book he created featuring the history of major companies in El Salvador, helped raise around $55,000 which was given to Fundacion Ayudame A Vivir: Pro ninos con cancer de El Salvador, which roughly translates to Foundation Help Me Live: For children with cancer of El Salvador. The foundation, which is linked to St. Jude in Memphis, Tenn., helps pay for medical care of children who undergo chemotherapy and other cancer treatments.

In 1981, a 14-year-old Adolfo Keeling was sent from his mother in war-torn El Salvador to live in Cornell with his newly married half sister Jenny Lyons, who had come to Flanagan-Cornell High School as a foreign exchange student from El Salvador herself in 1976. Keeling spent a year at Cornell Grade School before eventually returning to El Salvador once the country had signed a peace treaty and the fighting had stopped.

“At the time I left for Cornell, the bombs were so close to my house, you couldn’t stand to be around it,” said Keeling. “Cornell was where I learned English. I was only in Cornell for a year before I spent time with my aunt in New York. Then, I went back to El Salvador.”

The idea for the book begins with the death of Keeling’s parents. Four years ago, after living through their losing battles with cancer, Keeling felt a strong desire to use his journalism and graphic design skills to help others win their fight against cancer. In El Salvador, Keeling said a public or private foundation is the only way children can be taken care of and 73 percent of the children battling cancer today are saved because of these foundations. Keeling said 25 years ago, before these foundations came about, only 10 percent of the children with cancer in El Salvador survived.

“Health care in El Salvador is pretty much non-existent,” said Keeling. “If you don’t have the ability to pay on your own, you aren’t going to be helped by the hospitals.”

Another reason he wanted to create this book was to give the world a better understanding of El Salvador. Keeling said many people are unaware of all the fine businesses and industry that the country boasts today.

“Since I am a graphic designer, I decided to use my company which publishes books and makes logos,” said Keeling. “I went to the president of the foundation and I told her that my parents died and I would like to raise money in their name. I decided to register a brand called Premiumbrands and create a book which features different companies found in El Salvador. Each company gets a two-page spread worth $5,000 which gives the history of the company and I raised $55,000 for the foundation.”

Page 2 of 3 - Even after the creation of Premiumbrands, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for the CEO. Keeling said prior to beginning the project he went to the president of the Salvadoran Association of Industries (ASI), Javier Siman, because without his word of approval, Keeling said his task of talking to the companies within the country would be almost impossible.

“If you go into these businesses as just a small entrepreneur, they aren’t going to listen to you,” said Keeling. “However, if you have the director of industry helping you, they are definitely interested in helping out because they know you must be really connected. Without his help, this book wouldn’t be possible.”

For every “yes” Keeling received, he said he still received about ten people who said “no.” He found these denials to be discouraging, but he said he also learned a lot about how to raise funds along the way.

“My message to the companies was, if we get together and have this book made and distributed in embassies around the world, we can tell the world we are friendly and hard working people. That was the other message I want to get through with this book. Many people thought because we had a 12-year war, they shouldn’t come and visit us. However, this book, I hope, will tell the our side of the story.”

Keeling is already working on a second book for 2012, which will be available sometime next year. He said people he has shown the book to liked the idea and the process of working with him to make the first book so much that he was unable to say no to making a second.

“Many people are asking if I am going to make a book this year. So, I plan to make this book and one more. It’s a lot of work and it’s a small country but, I think it’s worth it if the people enjoy it,” said Keeling. “Last year’s book for 2011 benefited a cancer foundation. This year, I am helping a foundation which takes orphans with downs syndrome or who are wheelchair bound. I wanted to choose a different foundation to give people an idea of how they work and what they are doing.”

One byproduct of making this book, which Keeling hadn’t initially planned for, is that a lot of companies in El Salvador who initially joined to purchase pages in the book, are also getting to know the foundation and help them on their own as well.

Keeling said this idea of helping people while also making a business is something he feels could be replicated by everyone. While he doesn’t expect everyone to be able to go out there and make a book featuring the biggest companies in their country, he hopes that people who see the book will be inspired to find ways to use their gifts to help others.

Page 3 of 3 - “If I could raise $55,000 for the foundation, other people can too,” said Keeling. “The concept could be taken to any country. I want to teach people how to fish, not just give them the fish. So, I came up with this concept and I will be giving a copy of the book to Cornell Grade School.”